Beyond Wasted
by TJ6
Summary: He was a mystery, this man she'd met and run away with two weeks ago, like a puzzle she was slowly putting together. Continuation to Wasted, the sixth chapter of my fic Puckleberry, part of the Carrie-verse.


_So a few of you guys expressed interest in me continuing on with __**Wasted**__, from my Carrie-verse, I hadn't intended to go beyond one-shots, but what can I say? You guys inspired me. For those who haven't read it this story takes place right after a one-shot I wrote called __**Wasted**__. It's the sixth chapter in my fic __**Puckleberry**__. You might be a little confused if you haven't read that one first, their characters are a bit different after everything they've gone through, then again you might not._

_The song Rachel sings in this one is Taking Chances, originally by Celine Dion, but I was totally listening to Lea Michele's version from the Glee soundtrack when I wrote this._

_Enjoy and please, please, please review! I thrive off reviews. They're like crack to me._

_This one's for you guys, __**Puckleberry**__ readers!_

_PS- Does anyone else hope that the writers named Jesse that specifically so someone could sing Jessie's Girl? I laughed so hard thinking that… And Idina Menzel is Rachel's mom, I knew it!_

* * *

**BEYOND WASTED**

They decided on a small one bedroom apartment in a walk up in Brooklyn. Actually they didn't so much decide as it's all they could afford… It was small and cramped and the kitchen appliances looked like they were from the 1970's, and Rachel loved every bit of it.

It was hers. Well, hers and Noah's. Thinking of Noah Rachel turned to look at her new roommate. He was a mystery, this man she'd met and run away with two weeks ago, like a puzzle she was slowly putting together. Setting her empty mug in the sink, _without washing it_ she thought giddily, she wandered into the living room and settled next to him on the couch.

He was on the phone with his mom she noted. He'd told her that he hadn't spoken with his mom since he and his wife- Quinn- were married.

"Really Ma," Noah rolled his eyes and threw his feet into her lap "I'll tell you where I am when I'm ready." He smiled over at Rachel when she turned the radio on low and opened the newspaper to search the classifieds. "Jesus fuck Ma! I never slept with Finn Hudson's wife! I know there must be quite the scandal. No. I'm sorry you have to deal with Quinn. I know she's crazy. Yeah, I know. I gotta go Ma. Say hi to Katie for me. I love you too. Bye, Ma."

"Nice talk?" Rachel asked when he hung up. She raised an eyebrow at him when he threw his cell phone and it hit her open newspaper. She watched it fall onto the couch before looking back at him.

"Turn it off and hide it." He said massaging his temples. "My mother's fucking crazy."

Rachel folded her paper and set it on the floor, and then she started unconsciously rubbing the stressed man's feet while staring at him thoughtfully. "You shouldn't say stuff like that about your mother, Noah. She's just happy to talk to you; it's been, what, 8 years?"

"Almost 9." He grunted, swinging his feet out of her lap- proving he was pissed, because the woman gave one hell of a foot massage. "I don't see you talking to your mother!"

"I don't have one." Rachel said softly, tensing slightly from his angry tone.

"Shit, Rach…" he said, his irrational anger draining from him as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm sorry. When did she? How did she?"

"Oh, Noah," Rachel laid a hand on his arm, "she didn't die."

"But-"

"I never had a mom." She explained. "I had two dads."

"Had?" He prompted. Thus far the petite brunette had been pretty quiet, not telling him much about her past. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to know everything about her, if only to protect her.

"They- they didn't believe me when I tried to tell them the truth… about Finn."

"You tried-"

Rachel nodded "I went to my dad, Michael, and told him about Finn. About what he was doing to me. I begged him to let me stay with him and daddy… He sent me home, back to Finn. He told me that Finn and I had only been married for a year, to give it some time, it couldn't possibly be that bad…"

"He sent you back to that asshole?" He asked heatedly.

Rachel nodded, tears stinging her eyes "He must have called Finn and told him about our conversation, because when he got home that night-" her sentence was cut off when she let out a deep, wracking sob.

"Shh…" Noah pulled the broken woman into his arms and stroked her hair gently "Rach, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it. Okay, baby? You're okay now. You never have to go back to him."

"What about when he finds me, Noah?" she wept, clutching at his shirt.

"He's not gonna find us, Rachel."

Rachel pulled away from him and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You don't understand." She all but whispered "He will. He doesn't think of me as a person- his wife. I'm a possession to him. He'll come after me because he thinks I belong to him."

"Rachel," Noah said, taking the woman's hands and staring her in the eye, "I won't let him take you away."

She stared back in silence, her eyes red and puffy and her hair a mess from him running his fingers through it. "Really?"

He hated hearing her voice sound so small. "I promise." He swore. He pulled her back into his arms and continued to whisper to her, taking note of when her breath evened out and she fell asleep. Looking down at the woman he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why he felt so protective of her. All he knew was that he'd die before he let Finn Hudson get his hands on her again.

* * *

Noah laughed the next morning when he found his cell phone wrapped in a plastic baggie and tucked into the back of their avocado green fridge. Pulling out the milk he went about making his cereal, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Morning Noah." His mouth turned up into a full fledged grin when he saw Rachel pad into the kitchen wearing a pair of short shorts, a red Buckeyes t-shirt, and a thick pair of his socks. Shoving another spoonful of cereal into his mouth he just held up his phone, still in the baggie. "You found your phone."

He swallowed rather distractedly when he watched her bend down to root around in the fridge and choked when it went down the wrong tube. "Yeah."

She frowned at him as she pulled some yogurt from the bottom shelf. "Are you alright?" He just nodded when she came over and laid a hand against his forehead. "You don't feel warm…"

"I'm fine."

She shrugged and sat down at the kitchen table with her yogurt. She smiled gratefully when he handed her a spoon. "So what are you doing today?"

"Not sure," he admitted, setting his cereal bowl in the sink next to her mug from the night before, "job hunting, probably. We won't live long on what I've got put away."

Rachel winced, painfully aware that she hadn't made any monetary contributions to their little journey so far. "Noah-"

He held a hand up dismissively at her and pretended not to notice when she flinched. "Rachel, chill. We knew coming here that you didn't have any money. Hell, your bastard of a husband didn't even let you own a cell phone."

"I know. Thank you for getting me one; by the way, it's just that-"

He cut her off again. "I want you to keep that thing on you at all times." As much for her protection as for his piece of mind, he thought. He wanted to be able to reach her anytime…

"I will. I think I should go job hunting today too."

"Nope." Noah shook his head.

"What do you mean 'nope'?" She asked indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Today you're going to the police station to get a restraining order against that asshat of a husband of yours."

"But-" He just shook his head. After a few beats of silence a smile threatened to break out on Rachel's face. "_Asshat_? Really?"

"Shut up." She giggled and started for the bathroom. "It's early!" This time she full out laughed at his admittedly pathetic excuse. He decided he _really _liked the sound.

* * *

Rachel stared blankly around her as she stepped out of the police station; she didn't come back to herself until she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Smiling slightly she brought the phone up to her ear. "Hi, Noah."

"Hey Berry. Are you done at the police station? How'd it go?"

"It went well, I think. I talked to a lovely officer. He took all my evidence and filed all the paperwork. Finn can't get within 100 yards of me."

"That's great Rach." Noah enthused, he ignored the use of the word can't knowing that while her husband wasn't supposed to be around her he _could_ do whatever he could get away with. "I'm actually just a block or two away from you, why don't you wait there and we'll go do something."

"Sure." Rachel answered happily, with the restraining order in the works she felt lighter than she had in years. She didn't even listen to the practical side of herself- the one telling her that they shouldn't be squandering money on days out, but job hunting instead- it was the side she usually listened to.

Noah grinned as he walked around the corner and saw Rachel leaning up against the wall of the police station. She lit up as he walked towards her. "Hi!"

"Hey," he slung an arm about her shoulders and they started walking aimlessly.

"Have any luck today?" She asked, staring up at him.

"I went around to a bunch of places, but there don't seem to be a lot of garages around the city. Nobody really drives in New York, I guess."

"It's fine, Noah." She reassured him, throwing an arm around his waist and squeezing lightly. "Everything's gonna work out."

Noah pressed a kiss into her hair. "C'mon Rach, let's go have some fun."

He's not sure how she managed to convince him to go see a musical, but the way she smiled when he'd agreed had completely made up for the three hours of dancing and singing he'd had to endure.

"Oh, Noah…" She sighed, clutching his arm "That was amazing!"

He grinned down at her, amused. "You liked it, huh?"

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling "Oh, yes. Thank you so much for taking me. I've always, _always_ wanted to go to a Broadway show."

"Anytime, Berry."

* * *

It was four weeks later when he finally heard back from one of the garages he'd applied to. Hummel's Motors was a small shop, but as well as repairing, detailing and dealing with everyday vehicles they also restored and built up roadsters and old classics. _That_ was what he loved.

Noting the time he grabbed his wallet and keys and flew out of the apartment, jogging down the street he burst into the small coffee shop on the corner- where Rachel had secured a part time job- grinning like a lunatic. "Rachel!"

"Noah?" looking up from where she was bussing a table she took in the sight of her grinning friend. "What's going on?"

Laughing, he picked her up and spun her in a circle, "I got it Rach! I got it!"

"You got what?" She asked as he set her down.

"Hummel's Motors."

"Really?" She squealed. He nodded excitedly and laughed again when she threw herself at him. "Noah, that's amazing! That's the one you wanted!"

Somewhere in the back of his mind Noah knew that Quinn never would have reacted this way, been so happy for him. She would have scoffed and told him there were bigger garages out there, to go get a _real_ job- one that paid well. Clearing his throat he set Rachel away from him, keeping his hands on her shoulders he smiled at her. "We're going out tonight, Berry. We're going to celebrate!"

"Okay," she smiled as he kissed her forehead "I'll see you at home when my shift is done."

He grinned goofily and hugged her again before leaving the café. She just shook her head as she made her way back to the counter. "_Who_ was that?" Tina, Rachel's co-worker asked as the brunette dumped her load of dishes into the sink.

Tina was a sweet girl, Rachel's age, newly married and _very_ pregnant. She was working at the café part time as she was on maternity leave from her real job as an accountant but was going stir crazy at home. She'd befriended Rachel instantly even though it had taken awhile for Rachel to break out of her shell and be her friend in return.

"What?" Rachel asked dazedly, a soft smile still on her face.

"Where have you been hiding the hottie?"

"Noah?" she asked the Asian girl nodded, "We live together."

"Nice." Tina whistled and laid her hand on her distended belly as Rachel began to wash the mugs and plates that had piled up in the sink. "So what's going on?"

"He just got the job he's been waiting to hear from for weeks!" Rachel gushed "We're going out tonight, to celebrate."

"That's awesome Rach! I know the perfect place."

* * *

Rachel arrived home about an hour later and smiled at Noah, who was on the phone with his mom _again_. Since he'd gotten in touch with her just over a month ago a day hadn't gone by without her calling to check up on her son. "I know she's difficult Ma, but I want those papers signed. _Now_." He sighed and nodded at Rachel when she mouthed that she'd be in the shower. "I don't care about the fuckin' house! She can have it…" He flopped down on the couch, listening to his mom blather on about Quinn and whatever other bullshit… He didn't tune her completely out until Rachel walked from the washroom to the bedroom, her hair dripping wet and clad only in a towel. His mouth went dry, he snapped out of it when his mother started screaming in his ear.

"Noah? Noah!"

"Jesus, Ma, I'm right here."

"She's looking for you Noah."

"Who?"

"Your wife."

"Why in hell would Quinn be looking for me? We were never in love. We haven't even had sex since _high school_. The only thing that was ever between us was Sarah. And she-" His throat closed up and he furiously blinked back tears. He cleared his throat. "There's no reason for her to want me."

"I don't think it's you she wants, sweetie. It's your things, your money. You hurt her pride, baby, and now she wants her own back."

"She can have everything! The house, her car, everything in the joint account… All I took was my truck and two bags of my things and the small inheritance I got from Grandma."

"I don't know if that's going to be enough, Noah." She told him softly.

Noah ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Just try Ma. Please?"

"I'll do my best, baby."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Say hi to Katie for me."

"I will Noah, but you really should call your sister yourself-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Ma." He looked up, stunned, when Rachel came out of the bedroom. "I gotta go."

Amelia Puckerman sighed. "Okay, Noah. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye." Pressing the end call button Noah just stared at Rachel.

She was wearing a black skirt that came to about mid-thigh, a lacy pink halter top and a pair of black heels he was sure he hadn't seen in their nearly empty closet before. Her hair was bundled up on top of her head, baring the long graceful curve of her neck and her legs were like… Whoa. "Jesus, Rach… You look-"

She giggled and twirled around, her skirt flaring out slightly. "I know right?" She spun around again "I haven't dressed up in so long… Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and slid his wallet and keys into the back pocket of his jeans as he stood up. "I was thinking-"

"Nope." Rachel cut him off, smiling mischievously up at him. "Let me grab my purse and a jacket. I know exactly where we're going tonight."

Noah was surprised when the cabbie pulled up to the address Rachel had given him. "Thank you, very much." She said primly, handing the man their fare. The cabbie just grunted and drove off as soon as they'd exited the vehicle.

"Where are we, Berry?" They were clearly at a bar, it was pretty non-descript from the outside, the sign proclaimed it to be 'Pop 'N' Lock'.

"Come on." She grinned, grabbing his hand and leading him into the bar.

They both looked around, pleasantly surprised. There was, of course, a huge bar surrounded by some high tables and barstools. One side of the place was dominated by booths, which were currently filling up with people. There were a few pool tables and a dartboard tucked into a corner, but the main focus of the establishment was the dance floor and stage. The stage, Noah was sure, was normally used by a DJ, or to highlight local bands, but tonight was being used for karaoke.

Rachel clapped her hands and started leading him to the bar "I love karaoke!" She yelled up at him. He barely heard her over the terrifyingly bad version of 'Bed of Roses' being screeched out on stage and shook his head. Of course she did.

"Rachel!" They both looked up and Noah vaguely recognized the pregnant girl Rachel worked with at the café.

"Hi Tina!"

"You came!"

"Of course." She replied her voice returning to a regular decibel as the Bon Jovi butcherer left the stage. "Tina this is Noah. Noah, Tina."

"Nice to meet you." Noah grinned, shaking Tina's hand.

"Yes it is." She replied, checking him out and winking at Rachel. Noah couldn't help but grin wider when he caught sight of Rachel blushing furiously. "Come on," Tina motioned "I'll introduce you guys to some people."

Rachel shrugged at Noah and followed her friend through the crowd, Noah right behind her, his hand firmly on the small of her back the whole time.

"Tina!" They heard a voice shout out, "What are you doing on your feet, woman? Sit the hell down!"

Tina rolled her eyes as they reached a table occupied by two women and three men. "This idiot," she motioned to the Asian man who'd yelled at her "is my brother Mike and this is his best friend Matt," the mocha skinned man with his arm around a stunning Latina "they own this place."

"It's very nice to meet you." Rachel smiled politely, Noah just nodded.

"This," Tina put her hand on the shoulder of a bespectacled man seated in a wheelchair, "is my husband, Artie." Artie grinned up at them and wrapped an arm around Tina's waist.

The blonde woman seated next to Mike leaned forward and smiled warmly at them. "I'm Brittany." Rachel smiled cordially in return.

"And this is Santana." Tina introduced the Latina. "Guys, this is my friend Rachel and her boyfriend Noah."

Neither Rachel nor Noah corrected her. "Hi," Rachel said shyly, she looked at Artie "Tina's told me a lot about you."

He smiled back. "Ditto."

"Noah, here, just landed a new job and they're out celebrating." Tina announced as she took a seat at the table.

"Congrats, man." Mike smiled. "Take a seat." The two squeezed into the booth and Noah slung an arm about Rachel's shoulders as soon as they sat down. "So," Mike continued "we were just trying to convince San to sing a song."

Santana rolled her eyes and sipped at her drink "Good fucking luck with that, Chang. I haven't had nearly enough to drink yet."

"Come on San," Brittany pleaded "you have such a pretty voice."

Tina nodded her agreement. "Go on San."

Rachel, sensing the woman's frustration, put her hand up "I'll go."

"Really Rach?" Tina asked, surprised. Her co-worker had always seemed so quiet and reserved.

"Sure." Rachel shrugged "I love to sing. Plus," she winced as the woman on stage attempted to hit a high note, "this woman is dreadful."

Santana gave the brunette a thoughtful look as she made her way to the stage. The chick had guts; maybe she'd be alright, after all.

"So, man," Matt asked Noah "what's the new job?"

"Mechanic," Noah answered turning to face the table once Rachel had safely made it through the crowd, "at Hummel's Motors. I'm gonna be doing some of the basic repairs and stuff, but mostly I'll be restoring cars- roadsters and muscle cars- that kinda thing."

"Very cool." Matt grinned.

Noah just nodded and then every head at the table turned to the stage as Rachel's name was announced.

The brunette smiled tentatively at the bar, most of the crowd was paying no attention, her smile widened when she set her eyes on Noah and he found himself smiling back reflexively.

_Don't know much about your life._

_Don't know much about your world, but_

_Don't want to be alone tonight,_

_On this planet they call earth._

_You don't know about my past, and_

_I don't have a future figured out._

_And maybe this is going too fast._

_And maybe it's not meant to last,_

_But what do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or hell to pay,_

_What do you say? What do you say?_

_I just want to start again,_

_And maybe you could show me how to try,_

_Maybe you could take me in,_

_Somewhere underneath your skin._

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or hell to pay,_

_What do you say? What do you say?_

_And I had my heart beaten down,_

_But I always come back for more, yeah._

_There's nothing like love to pull you up,_

_When you're lying down on the floor there._

_So talk to me, talk to me, like lovers do._

_Yeah, walk with me, walk with me,_

_Like lovers do, like lovers do._

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or hell to pay,_

_What do you say? What do you say?_

_Don't know much about your life_

_And I don't know much about your world_

The entire bar had gone almost completely silent by the time she reached the second verse, she was amazing. By the end they were cheering wildly for her, chanting for an encore. All Noah could think about was how applicable the song was to their situation. Maybe it was time he shared some of himself with her, she had- after all- told him about part of her past.

All serious thoughts were chased from his head as a flushed, excited Rachel made her way back to the table. "You were amazing, Berry." He murmured against her ear as he kissed her temple.

"Holy crap, Rach!" Tina exclaimed, practically vibrating in her seat. "Who knew such a big voice could come from such a tiny body?"

"You were great." Artie, Brittany, Mike and Matt agreed.

Santana shrugged one shoulder and took a long pull from her beer bottle. "You were alright, I guess."

Brittany just smiled wider, then patted Rachel's hand "That's Santana speak for you were super fantastic!"

Rachel laughed, "Thanks guys. So, who's next?"

* * *

The two brunettes arrived home at about 2:30 in the morning laughing like lunatics; they were both a little- or a lot- drunk.

Noah had been nervous when Mike, Matt, and Artie had handed him a beer- on the house, of course- he knew Rachel knew about his past with alcohol, they'd lived next door to each other for 3 years, for Christ's sake. He didn't think she'd freak out or anything, she wasn't the type to cause a scene, but he did expect some kind of reaction- after all, he knew her past with alcohol too. But she'd just laid her hand atop his, smiled brightly at him, then turned and continued her conversation with Brittany, Tina and Santana.

"Open the door, Noah." She giggled, leaning heavily against the wall.

"I'm trying." He shushed her, struggling to get the key in the lock.

"I had such a good time tonight." She sighed and when he finally unlocked the door they stumbled into the apartment together.

"Me too." He admitted as they flopped onto the couch. He stroked her hair as she laid her head in his lap. "I don't remember the last time I had fun."

"I didn't know you could sing." Rachel said, twisting her body so she could look into his eyes.

He quirked one side of his mouth up, giving her a half smile. "I could say the same about you."

"I love singing." She whispered, reaching up to stroke the side of his jaw. "Noah?"

"Yeah, Rach?" He closed his eyes and nuzzled into the hand that cupped his jaw.

"Why are you so good to me?"

He opened his eyes slowly, "You deserve it."

She smiled and when he leaned down towards her she arched up and met his lips in a kiss. Their first kiss. It was a bit unsure, but the sparks that had been between them all this time exploded into fire that raced along their skin.

Rachel moaned when he traced his tongue along the seam of her lips. Then, pulling him down to her by the collar of his shirt, she deepened the kiss.

"Rachel…" He groaned as she rained kisses up and down his jaw line, "Are you sure about this? I won't be able to stop…"

Instead of answering, Rachelpressed her lips against his in another heady kiss and dragged his hand down to cup her breast. "Please-" She shuddered as he palmed her through her shirt "_Noah…_"

Hearing her breathe his name was all it took for Noah to gather her up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom. Laying her down on the queen sized bed all he could do was stare; her lips were swollen and her jaw and neck were reddened by his stubble rubbing against her.

She gasped and arched upward as he dragged his thumbs over her nipples. One of his hands glided slowly down her body, only to start back up once he reached the hem of her skirt- she shivered at the feel of his calloused fingers against her bare thigh. His other hand worked impatiently at the knot of her halter top.

Rachel pulled Noah's shirt from the waistband of his jeans and she was fumbling with his belt buckle when he rubbed his thumb against her damp core. Her breath hitched and her eyes rolled back. "Oh, God…"

"Nope," he smirked when he finally got the knot of her halter top undone, "just me." Rachel laughed and mustering all her strength she rolled the two of them over so she was straddling him. He bit back a groan as the straps of her shirt fell forward, but it stayed tightly molded to her body. "You aren't wearing a bra."

She bit her lip and shook her head, "Nope." He really did groan when she began slowly unbuttoning his shirt and running her dainty hands over his chest. She ground her hips down against his.

"Rachel…" He reached up and pulled down the top of her shirt, letting the lacy material settle around her waist. He traced his hands up her thighs and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and dragged them down her legs, then lifting his hips he allowed her to pull his jeans and boxers down.

They both hissed with pleasure as she lowered herself down and he slid inside her. Flicking a finger against her clit Noah almost couldn't restrain himself when her orgasm caused her to clench tightly around him.

She moaned; it had been _so long _since she'd felt herself come undone. He made a growling sound in the back of his throat as he flipped them over again. She arched up, pressing herself against him as he continued to slide in and out of her. His name turned into a chant as he laved at her breasts, dragging the flat of his tongue over her nipple and flicking it with the tip.

He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and bit down when he reached his climax. He kissed the bite mark softly as he came down. "Rachel-" he whispered her name against her skin.

"Shh." She shushed him. She cupped his chin and kissed him gently. "Just stay here with me tonight. Please."

He kissed her again and kicked his jeans all the way off, and then after waiting for her to throw her skirt and shirt to the floor he wrapped them up tightly in a cocoon of blankets. "Good night Rachel."

"Good night Noah." She mumbled, laying her hand atop the one he'd wrapped around her and settled on her stomach. He kissed the back of her neck and laced their fingers together.

It was the best night sleep either of them had had in a long time.

* * *

They never really talked about that night. There was no awkwardness; their life had continued the way it was before, although the hugs and brief touches had become kisses and long embraces. And they now shared the bed and the bedroom was _theirs_…

They hadn't had sex again- even though they slept in the same bed every night- and they didn't call each other boyfriend and girlfriend; they were just Rachel and Noah. Though Santana, who had surprisingly become Rachel's best friend, told her she should just get a ring and make it official- but both Rachel and Noah suspected that was just so she could show off the rock Matt had proposed to her with.

They knew almost everything about each other now; from their favorite colors (blue and purple) to their deepest fears (losing himself again and Finn finding her and forcing her back to Ohio). The last secret came out about a month after _that night_.

Rachel had called Noah at work explaining, giddily, that she was in the back of an ambulance rushing to the hospital with Tina, who was _finally_ in labor.

She'd arrived home 10 hours later, flushed with excitement and full of news about baby Marissa Lee Abrams. He was drunk off his ass with an empty bottle of JD on the table in front of him. "Noah?"

"They have a baby girl?" He asked brokenly. She nodded as she sat on the couch next to him and pulled him into her arms. "She's good? Healthy?"

"Yeah, Noah, she's perfect." A sob tore out of him, breaking her heart as she cradled him against her. "Noah, what's going on?" Rubbing his eyes with one shaking hand he thrust a folded, worn photo into her hands with the other. She glanced down at the picture; it was a young Noah- one sporting a Mohawk, thank god he'd gotten rid of that haircut- and he was holding a squalling, red faced infant with a look of wonder and adoration on his face. "I don't understand…"

"That's-" he took a deep breath and blinked back the tears stinging his eyes, "That's Sarah. _My_ baby girl."

"But-" she looked from the photo to the broken man on their couch, struggling to keep it together. "Noah, I don't- Where is she?"

"She lived for 3 minutes and 49 seconds." He told her solemnly "She had a hole in her heart. The doctors didn't catch it. They- we didn't know. She was my baby, Rach."

She didn't say anything as she drew him back into her arms and let him cry. She stroked his back soothingly until he'd stopped. "So, Sarah, she's the reason-"

"The reason Quinn and I got married?" She nodded. "Yeah. We were in high school. Her dad was fucking nuts… Rachel, I want you to know Sarah was the only thing I loved about Quinn. Hell, she was the only thing I _liked_ about Quinn."

"Noah, you don't have to explain-"

He clasped her hands tightly in his own "Rachel, I want you to know. I _never_ loved Quinn, not like I-"

She wrenched her hands out of his and cut him off "Don't."

"But-"

Rachel shook her head "Not yet, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed softly and watched as she retreated to the bedroom.

Two days later he found his photograph of Sarah restored, framed and sitting alongside the pictures they'd taken of their life in New York so far. He wouldn't tell her he loved her, not yet, but he was pretty sure that when he did she'd say it back.

* * *

It was two weeks after that emotional rollercoaster of a day when Noah got the phone call he'd been hoping for. Rachel walked into the apartment after a long, shitty shift at the café- it just wasn't the same since Tina had quit- and flopped onto the couch next to him as he was finishing his conversation.

"Yeah. No, Ma, that's great. You're sure? I know. Listen I gotta go, Rachel just got home. Yes, I know you think it's scandalous that we ran away together and it's killing you not to say anything." He rolled his eyes and looked over at Rachel who had a slight smile on her face. "I promise you, we never had an affair. Okay, say hi to Katie for me." He rolled his eyes as his mother nagged him once again about calling his sister himself. "Yeah, I'll call her. I'm going now, Ma. I love you too. Bye." He leaned over and kissed Rachel in greeting as he snapped his cell phone shut. "Hey, long day?"

She nodded as groaned when he pulled her feet into his lap and began to massage them for her. "So what was that about? You were smiling when I came in."

"Quinn signed the divorce papers." He announced grinning broadly.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at him with huge eyes. "Really?"

Noah nodded; his smile was so big she thought his face was going to break in half. "She got engaged to some rich sucker, Jesse St James or something like that… It doesn't matter, she signed them!"

"Noah that's wonderful." She laughed as he picked her up and spun her in circles. She wrapped her legs around him, for balance she told herself, but the giggles turned into moans as he kissed her ravenously.

They made love for the second time that night.

* * *

It was just under five months since they'd run away from Ohio, two months since they'd given into each other for the first time, and two weeks since they'd received the news about Quinn when Rachel's worst fear came true.

Noah was in the washroom, showering off after a surprisingly intense game of basketball with Mike, Matt, and Kyle- a guy from the garage- when Rachel barreled into the room and started heaving into the toilet.

"Rach?" he asked worriedly, turning off the water. He grabbed for a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he stepped out of the shower. Bending down next to her he gently pulled her hair away from her face and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Are you okay, baby? What's wrong?"

When she felt she was done emptying her stomach Rachel wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at him miserably. "I saw him."

"What? Rach what are you talking about? You saw who?"

"Finn." She whispered. Turning back to the toilet she started heaving again.

He rubbed her back in contemplative silence. "Maybe it wasn't him."

The petite brunette looked up at him again, her eyes wide with fear and shiny with tears. "It was him." Hating seeing her so broken and fragile Noah gathered her into his arms and scooped her up. He carried her into the bedroom and tucked her into their bed. Stroking her hair and murmuring nonsense to her he worried as she fell asleep. If Finn had really found them, what were they going to do?

Rachel woke up the next morning feeling just as miserable, anxious and sick as the night before. Lurching out of the bed she barely made it to the washroom before she started to throw up again. When she felt she could stand Rachel stood and brushed her teeth quickly, then padding back into the bedroom where she crawled back into the bed and curled up next to Noah. "Hey, baby," he said, still half asleep, as he wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss into her hair "feel better?"

She pressed herself back against him and closed her eyes. "My stomach's not as queasy."

He pressed another kiss to the back of her neck, right below her ear. "Good."

Normally 'early morning cuddly Noah' was enough to get her mind off anything, but she was just too uneasy "What are we going to do, Noah?"

He sighed and tightened his hold on her "I don't know, Rach."

"Noah-"

He squeezed her a little tighter and cut her off "You're not going anywhere, Rachel Berry. Not without me."

She smiled slightly despite her apprehension and fell back into a fitful sleep.

She was sick everyday for the next two weeks; Finn taking her away was her deepest fear, but she knew he hadn't signed the divorce papers and still had some control over her life. Noah had done everything he could to ease her mind; he'd gone to the police to inform them that Finn was in town- that hadn't done much good, the _lovely_ officer Rachel had dealt with turned out to be kind of an asshole- he'd installed two more locks on their front door. He'd even gone to their friends- Santana, Matt, Mike, Artie, Tina and Brittany- and told them the whole story, causing Santana's over protectiveness to kick into high gear and ensuring that Rachel was never alone. There was nothing they could do, she was a nervous wreck.

It all came to a head on a warm spring day in May. Noah had finally convinced Rachel to get out of the apartment and they were walking through Central Park on their way to meet Santana and Matt. Noah had his arm slung across her shoulders and she was actually smiling for the first time in weeks, devouring an ice cream cone like she'd never see food again. He chuckled and wiped a bit of ice cream from her cheek as she tried to convince him to take her to some revival on Broadway about some German kids having sex or something. He wasn't really paying attention, but that was okay, they both knew he'd end up taking her and she'd explain it to him approximately 5000 times before they went. "Alright Berry, enough already, we'll go."

She was leaning up to kiss him when someone grabbed his arm and wrenched them apart. "What the-"

The first punch caught him off guard "Get the _fuck_ away from my wife!" Bystanders gasped and a few even started filming the altercation on their phones as Noah sidestepped Finn's next punch and planted himself in front of Rachel. She had tears in her eyes and was clutching at the back of Noah's t-shirt.

"Hudson." Noah said calmly, his eyes raking over the taller man. Had he always been so fucking _huge_?

"Puckerman," Finn spat, the veins in his neck bulging "you kidnapped my wife."

"I didn't kidnap anyone, asshole. She signed the divorce papers, left her wedding ring, and dumped your ass on her own." Hearing Rachel whimper behind him he turned and brushed the hair out of her face. "Rach, baby, why don't you go find Matt and Santana? Okay?" He prodded when she didn't respond. "Rachel-"

"She's not going anywhere!" Finn roared.

"Listen, Hudson," Noah glared at him "you're scaring her. Back off."

"She is my wife!" He yelled again "_Mine! _I'll kill you both before I let her go."

"Listen," Noah said evenly, tucking Rachel closer to his back, "there's a restraining order, which you're violating right now. I would be willing to talk to you on Rachel's behalf, _hell_ I won't even press charges against you for this little attack, but you _cannot_ and _will not_ be anywhere near her."

"Fuck you!" Finn snarled as he launched himself at Noah.

Rachel gasped and backed away from the two men as they fought viciously. She didn't hear when Santana and Matt raced up to her calling her name. She jumped when the petite Latina wrapped her arms around her. "San…" It was all she could say before her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away.

Santana couldn't do anything but cushion their fall as the brunette's dead weight dragged them both to the ground. She glared at the dozens of people who stood around watching. "Someone call fucking 911!" She snapped, cradling her friend against her.

It seemed that Santana's voice was the thing it took for people to spring into action. Several men moved forward to help Matt separate Noah and Finn who were both bloody and in pretty bad shape. One woman stopped filming the fight long enough to call the authorities and another rushed over to help Santana with Rachel.

When she saw several people attempting to leave the scene Santana switched into bitch mode. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" She stood and planted her hands on her hips, glaring at them. "You're all staying here and giving the police statements, because I'll be damned if that asshole gets near _my_ best friend ever again."

* * *

Santana, Matt, Mike, Brittany, Tina, and Artie all stood around Puck's hospital bed- he'd sustained some fractured ribs, and required quite a few stitches- waiting for news about Rachel. They'd been assured by the police that with the restraining order violation, the spousal abuse, the death threat, and his attacking Noah he'd be put away for awhile. One officer had even given him the name of a judge who, under the circumstances, could legalize Rachel's divorce without Finn's signature. Now they just needed to know she was alright.

They all turned towards the doorway as the doctor they'd seen wheel Rachel away entered the room. "What's the news doc?" Noah asked, wincing in pain as he tried to sit upright.

"You're here for Rachel Hudson?"

"Berry." Noah corrected immediately, "Yes."

"Well, she's awake now. It seems the stress on top of her pregnancy has resulted in a case of severe exhaustion and dehydration. They're running some tests now, but as far as I can tell, she and the baby are both fine. A few days rest and lots of fluids and she should be right as rain."

Everyone stared at the doctor in shock. "Back up." Santana ordered "Pregnant?"

"That's right." The doctor said, double checking his clipboard. "She's about 2 and a half months along." Looking up he noticed the looks on everyone's faces "You didn't know?"

"No." Artie answered for the group. "Will we be able to see her soon?"

The doctor nodded, "I'll have someone notify you as soon as the tests are done."

"Thanks." Artie said as he left the room.

"You knocked her up?" Santana demanded, when they were alone again.

Noah just stared straight ahead. "I have to talk to her." He announced, ignoring the pain as he got up.

No one tried to stop him as Noah limped towards the door. "Are we going to have another baby shower?" Brittany asked excitedly as soon as he was out of earshot.

Noah wandered the hospital hallways, searching for any sign of Rachel. He stopped when he spotted the tiny brunette lying in a hospital bed, all alone. "Rach?" he asked approaching her bed slowly.

She turned towards him and tears filled her eyes as she took in his appearance. "Noah…"

He hurried to her side and grasped her hand in his. "Is- is it true?"

Rachel nodded slowly, not sure what his reaction would be. Her heart fluttered when a brilliant smile broke spread across his face. "You're going to be a dad." She whispered.

He laughed and ignoring the pain, crawled into the bed beside her. Resting a hand on her belly he pressed a kiss to her shoulder blade and smiled "You're going to be a great mom, Rach."

"You're still gonna take me to see Spring Awakening, right?"

Noah nodded even though she was facing the other way and couldn't see him "I love you, Rach."

She sighed and just before she fell asleep again she returned the sentiment quietly "I love you too."

* * *

The next seven months of their life were undoubtedly the happiest and busiest of their lives.

Judge Lawson, the name Noah had gotten from a police officer on the day of the _'Finncident' _as Santana had dubbed it, had succeeded in moving Rachel's divorce forward. The two, much to Noah's mother's delight- Rachel was _Jewish_ after all-, had wasted no time in getting married themselves.

It had been a simple ceremony at City Hall, with only Noah's mother and sister and their friends in attendance. Santana had grumbled the whole time about Rachel stealing her thunder, but the tears in her eyes as the couple said "I do" and the hug she gave Rachel afterward proved how happy she was for her best friend.

Moving out of their tiny one bedroom apartment had been one of the saddest days they'd had since moving to New York. They'd made so many memories there, it's where they'd gotten to know each other, where they'd fallen in love, and it was where their baby had been conceived. But the, at the time, very pregnant Rachel had to admit it was nice to have an elevator in their new place. Not only that, but it had two bedrooms, it was closer to the garage and Tina, Artie, and baby Marissa lived two floors above them. So maybe it wasn't a sad day so much as a bittersweet one.

Santana and Matt's wedding had come and gone. It was an extravaganza, to say the least, held at the Plaza for about 200 of New York's finest. Santana, who came from money- lots of money-, had given her mother free reign over most of the planning, the only concession being that she could choose her own wedding party. Rachel had been the Hispanic woman's matron of honor, flanked by Brittany, Tina and Ashley- Matt's sister- while Mike, Noah, Artie and Matt's brother Nathan stood up for him.

The ceremony was beautiful, with the exception of Santana's mother's constant bitching. _The lights washed her out. The champagne wasn't chilled enough. She couldn't believe the matron of honor was pregnant, it ruined the aesthetic… _But the biggest complaint came when halfway through the reception Rachel went into labor.

Santana laughed as Noah climbed into the back of the ambulance and she clutched Rachel's hand tightly. "First you have your wedding _before_ mine and now you have your baby on _my_ wedding day? You really are trying to steal my thunder aren't you, Rachel Puckerman?"

Rachel squeezed her friend's hand as a contraction overcame her. "At least my water didn't break during the ceremony."

Santana laughed harder "There is that." She conceded.

"Finish with your wedding, Mrs. Rutherford." Rachel told her as the paramedics loaded her into the ambulance "Noah will call you when it's over."

It took 19 long, painful hours. But finally baby Puckerman made her way into the world. She was loud and red and covered in goo and her parents loved her more than anything.

Noah let out a relieved breath when she lived past the 4 minute mark and chuckled when he saw the fine black hair on her head pointing up into a Mohawk. "My girl." He murmured, nuzzling his nose against his daughter. Settling on the edge of his wife's bed, with their baby in his arms, he kissed his tired wife gently. "My girls." He corrected himself.

Rachel smiled wearily as their friends piled into the room. Santana had changed out of her wedding dress, but the rest of them were still clad in their formalwear.

"She's gorgeous guys." Artie said quietly. Everyone nodded their agreement, because even at only a few hours old she was pretty perfect.

Santana held her arms out and smiled when Noah handed her over. "San," Rachel said, holding her husband's hand, "we were hoping that you and Matt would be her godparents."

The Latina looked from Rachel to Noah to Matt, a brilliant smile on her face. "Of course!"

"So what's her name?" Matt asked as Santana placed his goddaughter in his arms.

"Hope." Rachel smiled "Brooklyn Hope Puckerman."

Noah leaned contentedly back in the hospital bed, cradling his wife against him. He watched as his best friends passed his newborn daughter around and smiled. He kissed his wife's temple and sighed. "Perfect."

-_fin-_


End file.
